Friday, September 2, 2011

The Bridegroom and the Sorrowful Mysteries

I was praying the Sorrowful Mysteries before the Blessed Sacrament earlier and I was inspired to make these meditations on each of the Sorrowful Mysteries based on the Nymphios (Bridegroom).

1. The Agony of the Lord in the Garden of Olives
Christ the Bridegroom contemplates the sins of His Bride the Church, recalling each one in His All-Knowing Mind. The pain each act caused Him was so great that blood vessels in His Sacred Head burst and bled into His pores, the Nymphios sweating bullets of blood. The weight of her sins being more than what His Human Body could bear. He is terrified of what is about to happen, knowing He is about to die, but it is worth it, because it is all being done for her sake. In the midst of all His pain, He offers Himself up to the Father to take care of His Bride.

2. The Flagellation of the Lord in the Praetorium
The soldiers take whips consisting of three leather thongs with three small iron barbels on each one. They give Christ the Bridegroom His lashes, leaving whip marks and the iron barbels digging into the flesh of His back, each one like another of her sins digging into His body. In the midst of all His pain, He offers Himself up to the Father to take care of His Bride.

3. The Coronation of the Lord in the Praetorium
Now we see Christ the Bridegroom in full wedding regalia. When the Greeks write an Icon of the Nymphios, this is the image depicted. The Immortal King has a crown of a thousand needles on His head, each one piercing Him like another sin committed by His Bride against Him. He is vested in a demeaning cape and given the reed of mockery. He is mocked and insulted because He loves His Bride and will not give up on her. He could have changed His message to avoid giving offence and make people happy, but He refuses to give up on her; He is determined to be with her forever, for all eternity. This suffering is all worth it, because it is all being done for her sake. In the midst of all His pain, He offers Himself up to the Father to take care of His Bride.

4. The Lord Carries His Cross to Calvary
The Nymphios has a massive beam of wood, weighing more than half His own weight placed across His shoulders. It's splinters dig into His skin. It is the weight of the entire life of sin of His beloved, His precious pearl. It is so heavy He can hardly stand under it, but He soldiers on. He goes out to die, but it is worth it because it is all being done for her sake. He falls repeatedly under the weight, gaining new wounds and bruises as He moves on. His entire body is telling Him to give up, but He can't; He must continue, for her sake. In the midst of all His pain, He offers Himself up to the Father to take care of His Bride.

5. The Crucifixion and Death of the Lord on Calvary
Now we see the consummation of the marriage between Christ and the Church. The cross is the marriage bed of the Church. It is where the Nymphios and His Bride give themselves to each other through the Holy Eucharist. Now all the pains from before come at Him all at once. Knowledge of all her sins, the splinters of the cross digging into the holes left by the whips, the crown of thorns piercing Him like a thousand needles on His head, the crowd mocking Him because of His commitment to His cause. At the same time nails pierce Him like liquid fire punching through Him in four spots at once. He is naked, on full display to be mocked, unable to move and unable to even breathe. He is frozen in pain. His life have been lived. There is nothing else to look forward to now. He knows He is about to die. As the last few drops of life pour out of Him, His bruised Heart ruptures from the stress of such a massive loss of blood. He cries out to His Father and offers what little is left of His life for the sake of His beloved Bride. He hangs there, dead from a broken heart, as a soldier opens His side with a lance letting out the last of His Precious Blood. He has given everything for His Bride. He has poured out everything from His fountain. Now, all He needs is for her to come and drink; to bathe in His Blood and be washed of all her sins.

It is truly meet to bless thee O Theotokos, ever blessed and most pure and the Mother of Our God. More honorable than the Cherubim and by far more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption thou didst bear God the Word. True Theotokos we magnify thee!